"shammies"

I am not getting out of my shammies today. Period.

"Shammies" is how N used to refer to her "jammies", so it has been adopted in our home as the correct pronunciation. PJ's, sweats, loungewear, .......no matter what you call them, it is comfort and peace. And that is what I want need today. My calendar for this week is full of errands to be run, doctor and dentist appointments to go to (even one for me on Thurs for glasses!), and working at the salon. I also have two nights booked to attend that conference at my church that I have been looking forward to.

So N has the right idea.......she lives in her shammies. In fact, it is a rare occasion that you ever will see her not in her shammies. She is all about comfort......being free. She has three drawers filled with assorted styles of pajamas.

It totally goes with her free spirit personality. Even as a baby, she hated being restricted. She was my only child who screamed bloody murder being in a carseat. This was totally new to us, as the carseat/carride was our sure fire solution to getting the boys to sleep when they were babies. We would even go as far as to secure G in his carseat, place it on the dryer and turn it on for the motion/vibration factor.

So having a baby who hated the carseat forced us to make some quick changes in life. Long gone were the nice family car rides to see the decorated houses at Christmas-time.....or afternoon day trips to see our New England foliage. Nope, it became only a need vs. want situation when deciding on running errands with her. My poor boys would play rock, paper, scissors when it came to having to come along. Buying stock in headphones would have been a wise investment for us......and I cannot even tell you the sheer horror we endured when we decided to take a 7 hour road-trip to Canada.....but I can tell you that a baby can be breastfed, while remaining safely strapped in her carseat, if you contort your body a certain way.

And on the rare occasion that N has to wear "real" clothes.......she is prepared with a plan to return to her comfy shammies as soon as possible. She packs her favorite pair in her backpack when she goes to church, and I kid you not......the shammies are on before she straps into her carseat for the ride home. (tinted windows in a minivan are reason enough and modesty is not one of her strongpoints either).

Speaking of modesty......a good example of what a free spirit, should-a-been-livin-in-the-sixties, kinda girl she is.......

A few weeks back, Josh and I are in the garage just talking about whatever....it was a gorgeous day, with temps unusually high for the fall. N is riding her scooter, barefoot of course.....yes, shoes are constricting too. She is buzzing in and out of the garage having the time of her life. So, she zooms back in, drops her scooter down and whips off her shirt......then proceeds to say:

Hey Mom, it's sooooo nice outside........why doncha take off your shirt and come play with me?

um......I didn't even dare look at Josh but could hear him snickering....he even attempted to mutter a "yeah, mom.....why don't you?" comment......but I quickly interrupted his nonsense with my reply on how I would love to play, but think it would be best to keep my shirt on. I cannot even tell you her comforting reply on how it would still would be OK for me go topless......(remember her very honest turkey neck comment the other night?!?)

I am told that she gets her free spirit, non conforming way from me. Not sure if that is good thing or not.....I mean, I do conform in life....... for the most part, I guess.

Hmmmmmmm, what did I do that was conforming? Oh, I know.....I did buy a minivan when we were expecting our fourth child....(seeing as though we wouldn't be able to fit all the kids in our Pathfinder. And I'd like to insert a confession prayer in the safe haven of my blog today....

Lord, please forgive us for masking the sour milk smell in that SUV with 20 air fresheners stashed under the seat and keeping the windows open at all times before we traded it in. Amen.

But I know I do not fit the mold for a typical 40 something mother of four either......I do not have even one pair of heels or "slacks" in my closet. I haven't cut my hair short, I secretly would love dreads...... and I have plans for more tattoos. I do not moisturize my aging skin like middle age women are advised to do....I do not wear make-up (only because I am not "good" at it)....and I often can be caught at the grocery store with my hair in a headwrap and in my "shammie" bottoms.


My kids do not have "texting", even though the whole world feels they are entitled to it. In fact, G is the only one with a cell phone, at almost 17. We restrict the music they listen to, in our home......to Christian genre.......even *if* it sounds like screaming or "gansta" rap. We have not gotten sucked into the commercialism and bought every video game system, their GameCube still works perfectly fine. They do not have internet/computers in their room.......and they are limited to one hour per day. We discourage MTV, VH1 and most of the garbage that is on the tube..........we only have extended basic cable w/DVR on one TV in the house (for Animal Planet, History Channel, Discovery, as well as taping my favorite preachers)... we are huge LOST fans (come on Jan 21st!!!) and I'll admit that I do enjoy some mindless entertainment/humor like The Office, New Adventures of Old Christine and Desperate Housewives.

On a more serious note, I do not vaccinate my kids on a certain schedule just because the gov't/medical community suggests it. I do educate myself and choose which vax they will get and when they will get them. In this day and age of promoting safe sex........we are trying to promote the importance (physically and emotionally) of waiting until marriage. (and yes, I am completely aware of "do as I say, not as I do" or should I say "did"). I am trying to teach the boys how it is still proper to open doors for girls and be respectful with their mouths when around them (even if she is their little sister).

I am very liberal and open minded in other issues such as tattoos, piercings (to a limit, no facial piercings are allowed)....and hair styles. I let them choose their wardrobe, even when it doesn't appear to be the right size for their body.

So it's not like I am trying to be unrealistic or going against the grain for just the sake of it all, I am just choosing to not be a sheep in my life and hope my children are bold enough in their morals/beliefs to do the same. I remind them of Matthew 7:13 ("Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.")

So where was I going with this?? Man, I do have a severe case of ADD. hmmmmm.....shammies to N to free spirit to non conforming......wow maybe I do need medication.

So yeah.....we are hanging today in our shammies. That is something that I feel blessed to be able to do. I still have tons of laundry to catch up on, bills to pay, beds to change, toilets to scrub.....N and I have some homeschooling to tackle.......I have two Christmas fairs coming up and a pile of blanks waiting to be dyed.....I have emails to answer, orders to fill and a new wholesale program to work on.

......but I can do it all today......in my shammies.

I hope this finds you comfy too!
xox